Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Great White Sharks Put UK On Alert, Caused by Global Warming

This again comes from the rational and non-fear mongering, non-sensationalist publication National Geographic. What was it Winston Churchill said? "We will fight them in the air, we will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them in the oceans...." Something like that. I'm sort of joking about this, but something does seem to be affecting sea creatures. Is it global warming and is there anything we can or should do about it?Peter

"Usually it's only jellyfish and skin-pinching crabs that swimmers worry about along the beaches of southwest England. But this summer they have something else on their minds—the ocean's awesome predator, the great white shark.

The perceived threat, however slim, follows reports of a large, unidentified shark feeding 20 yards (18 meters) off the west coast of Devon.

Experts disagree on whether it was a great white, which can easily be confused with another species of shark commonly found in these waters.

However, the publicity given to the sighting has raised a number of interesting questions. Why, for example, do great white sharks not ordinarily venture into this part of the ocean?And if it was a great white spotted off Devon, could this be the first of many following their traditional food source? For some years now, many species that are also the great white shark's prey have been observed migrating farther north—possibly because the sea around the U.K. is getting warmer. Is it not inevitable that the great whites will follow in their wake?The shark thought to be a great white was recently spotted by ChayneeHodgetts while on vacation.

The teenager, who wants to become a marine biologist, watched the shark from cliffs for ten minutes as it attacked a shoal of fish. Using binoculars, she judged its length at 12 feet (3.66 meters) by comparing it with common dolphins chasing the same shoal.Having seen detailed notes taken by the 15-year-old, experts say her description closely matches that of a great white (Carcharodoncarcharias)—a species never before recorded in U.K. waters.

She reported her sighting to Rolf Williams, a shark expert at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, England."It's tantalizing and we're taking it seriously," he said: "We scrutinized Chaynee very thoroughly to get the best information we could. We'll never know for certain, but some of her observations strongly suggest a great white."

and:"Although great whites often inhabit relatively cool waters, their presence around the U.K. could also be a response to climate change if their food is luring them to the North Atlantic.And if they do start to turn up in numbers, the U.K.'s burgeoning seal population should give them good reason to stay. Already there have been reports of seals being attacked by large sharks, including one from a Cornish fisherman who claims to have seen a seal being bitten in half. "

"While this may not be enough to stop nervous, seawards glances on England's beaches this month, it's worth remembering the great white's man-eating reputation rests largely with the bloodcurdling creature depicted in the Spielberg movie Jaws."